Articles Feature

Surgeon General Wants End to ‘Criticism’

by richard04160

Media Push Back at Top Doc’s Remarks
. . . Prisons Are a Ticking Time Bomb
. . . ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Fosters Virus Risk
. . . Official Uses ‘Kung Flu’ to Reporter’s Face
. . . Attendee at NABJ Event Tests Positive
. . . ‘White Privilege’ Seen Behind Guidelines
On Andrew Gillum Incident, How Much to Report?
36% of Blacks Tune in to Fox News
Lovell Beaulieu, a Loyal New Orleanian, Dies at 65
Frank Bond, ‘Storyteller’ at Newseum, Dies at 68
Food Critic John Tanasychuk Dies at 61
Short Takes

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Media Push Back at Top Doc’s Remarks

The surgeon general is letting stand his remarks reprimanding journalists for their coverage of the White House response to the coronavirus.

On Saturday, “The top uniformed public health authority sounded a surreal note when he urged Americans to stop criticizing public officials for their performance during the crisis — as he kept his lips zipped about Trump’s unrelenting stream of partisan attacks,” Dave Goldiner reported Saturday for the Daily News in New York.

“ ‘No more bickering. No more partisanship. No more criticism or finger-pointing,’ Adams said at a chaotic White House press conference. ‘We all need to hit the reset button and lean into moving forward the health and safety of the American people as our top priority.’ “

Members of the news media ripped Adams over the remarks, Tal Alexerod reported Saturday for the Hill.

“Many journalists suggested Adams was imposing a double standard with his criticism of ‘partisanship’ in the media’s reports of the coronavirus because he did not mention remarks from President Trump that have blamed Democrats for their alleged role in the pandemic’s spread.

“ ‘Quite a prescription from the surgeon general. Reporters are reporting after a series of mess ups by the government in their response to the coronavirus,’ said New York Times White House reporter Maggie Haberman.

“ ‘Um… did the Surgeon General just tell US to take coronavirus seriously (has he met his boss??) and did he just order Americans not to criticize the president?’ added MSNBC host Joy Reid.

“Several other journalists piled on, suggesting they were getting undeserved flak for reporting on the government’s actions to curb the coronavirus’s spread. . . .”

Trump changed his tune on Monday, switching his stance from dismissive to somber. He called media coverage “very fair.”

But many noted that Trump and the gaggle of officials conducting the press briefings, including Adams, ignored their own guidelines by failing to stand apart from each other.

The surgeon general’s press office did not respond to requests to clarify or renounce his comments about media criticism.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has reduced the number of inmates in its jails by more than 600. (Credit: Luis Sinco/Los Angeles Times)

. . . Prisons Are a Ticking Time Bomb

“Among the most vulnerable communities in this pandemic is a group that is forcibly held in close quarters, with many members facing existing health problems and limited access to medical care – or even soap for washing hands,” Tim Redmond wrote Saturday for the San Francisco-based 48 Hills.

“Roughly 2.3 million [people] are in jails and prisons in the United States – and their health is often ignored or overlooked in the news media. In some cases, they are crammed into small quarters without adequate fresh air or decent food. . . .”

Fortunately, some media outlets subsequently called attention to the ticking prison time bomb, and some officials moved to reduce prison populations:

. . . ‘Remain in Mexico’ Policy Fosters Virus Risk

“On Sunday night, the Department of Justice Executive Office for Immigration Review announced on Twitter that certain preliminary hearings in immigration court — hearings for people who aren’t detained — would be canceled until April 10,” Debbie Nathan reported Monday for the Intercept.

“But the new policy didn’t cancel hearings for people in a special type of detention: the Trump administration’s Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as MPP or Remain in Mexico. As a result, at an EOIR facility in El Paso on Monday morning, immigrants in MPP were crowded into court, along with court employees, and the crowding put everyone at risk for contracting and spreading the coronavirus. El Paso over the past four days has recorded its first two known cases. . . .”

. . . Official Uses ‘Kung Flu’ to Reporter’s Face

“CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang (pictured) shocked many by revealing that a White House official took President Donald Trump’s ‘Chinese virus’ slur even further by calling the coronavirus ‘kung flu’ right to her face,” Tommy Christopher reported Tuesday for Mediaite.

“On Tuesday morning, shortly after Trump sent another ‘Chinese virus’ tweet, Jiang told her Twitter followers that an unnamed White House official had dialed up the racism.

On Thursday, the major journalists of color associations, Journalism and Women Symposium (JAWS) and NLGJA: The Asociation of LGBTQ Journalists issued a joint statement denouncing such terms. Harmful language persists, “including repeated use of ‘China coronavirus’ or ‘Chinese coronavirus’ despite guidance by the World Health Organization discouraging the use of geographic locations when naming illnesses because it could stigmatize populations associated with those places,” the statement said.

“In this time of heightening tensions and fears, it is more important than ever that the media collectively gets it right so that we don’t give others, including politicians and the general public, an excuse to get it wrong. We also fully support and encourage journalists to continue to be vigilant in reporting the growing anti-Asian sentiment tied to the outbreak along with the rhetoric.”

Also joining the Asian American Journalists Association in the statement were National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), Native American Journalists Association (NAJA), and NLGJA: The Asociation of LGBTQ Journalists.

“ ‘This morning a White House official referred to #Coronavirus as the “Kung-Flu” to my face,’ Jiang wrote, adding ‘Makes me wonder what they’re calling it behind my back.’ ”

Meanwhile, Katie Rogers, Lara Jakes and Ana Swanson reported for the New York Times, “President Trump on Wednesday defended his increasingly frequent practice of calling the coronavirus the ‘Chinese Virus,‘ ignoring a growing chorus of criticism that it is racist and anti-Chinese.

“ ‘It’s not racist at all,’ Mr. Trump said, explaining his rationale,” and answering questions from Cecilia Vega of ABC News and Yamiche Alcindor of PBS.  ” ‘It comes from China, that’s why.’

“But the term has angered Chinese officials and a wide range of critics, and China experts say labeling the virus that way will only ratchet up tensions between the two countries, while resulting in the kind of xenophobia that American leaders should discourage. Asian-Americans have reported incidents of racial slurs and physical abuse because of the erroneous perception that China is the cause of the virus. . . .”

On the “PBS NewsHour” Wednesday, anchor Judy Woodruff asked Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., (pictured) one of only three medical doctors in the Senate, why he did not follow Trump in labeling the virus as “Chinese.” With his answer, he broke with some of his colleagues.

“This is something which happens regularly,” (video) Cassidy replied. “A virus moves from one animal into human beings. The Chinese physicians have been outstanding in sharing medical information with the rest of the world. I was, just before you got on, reading several New England Journal of Medicine articles, published by Chinese, about whether this medical therapy works, what’s the impact of children, I could go on.

“Speaking now as a physician, the international collegiality among health care workers has been fantastic, and just as we need Washington to work well with parties and people who are not in Washington, our medical community has to work well internationally because this is an international issue. We are truly in it together.”

. . . Attendee at NABJ Event Tests Positive

“This morning, the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) was alerted that one of the attendees participating in the Millennial Media Summit on March 7 in New York at Columbia University tested positive for the Coronavirus,” NABJ said in an emailed message on Wednesday. “Registrants that provided contact information immediately received an email alert. . . .

“In accordance with HIPAA laws and out of respect for the privacy of our members and registrants, we will not be releasing the individual’s name. However, we have extended our thoughts and prayers to the individual and also extend our thoughts and prayers to anyone impacted by the virus. . . .”

Last week, the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting, part of Investigative Reporters and Editors, announced that at least one person at its annual conference, held in New Orleans, had tested presumptively positive for the coronavirus.

‘Every restaurant, every storefront, every underground example of entrepreneurship is essential to the economic [well being] of Philadelphia’s black and brown neighborhoods. . . .” (Credit: Jessica Griffin/ Philadelphia Inquirer)

. . . ‘White Privilege’ Seen Behind Guidelines

“As I traversed downtown Philadelphia on Tuesday, I saw shuttered storefronts after Mayor Jim Kenney ordered nonessential businesses to close to prevent the spread of coronavirus,” Solomon Jones wrote Wednesday for the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I don’t disagree with the mayor’s order, and I believe it was necessary. But I also believe that much of the government and media response to this virus has come from a place of white privilege.

“In a city where 25% of the population lives in poverty — and where black and brown people are overrepresented in that number — every business owned by a person of color is essential.

“You don’t need a haircut to live, but to the barber who feeds his family one trim at a time, that business is essential. You can survive without new sneakers, but to the single mother who is a salesperson at a sneaker store, each new pair of kicks is a bottle of milk for her baby. In short, every restaurant, every storefront, every underground example of entrepreneurship is essential to the economic [well being] of Philadelphia’s black and brown neighborhoods. . . .”

“I will be stepping down from all public facing roles for the foreseeable future,” Andrew Gillum said in a written statement.

On Andrew Gillum Incident, How Much to Report?

Candace Owens, the die-hard Trump supporter and black conservative, on Saturday became the first to post police reports showing that Andrew Gillum, Democratic Party rising star who has been called an African American role model, “was involved in a crystal meth overdose incident last night in a Miami hotel. Orgy suspected, but unconfirmed.”

Owens’ first was reported by the Tallahassee Democrat and the LGBT publication the Advocate, among others.

She continued to tweet disturbing details.

For Gillum, married and the father of three, touted just recently as a possible vice presidential candidate, the incident was damaging enough for him to apologize Sunday to the people of Florida and declare “that he is entering a rehabilitation facility, saying he had fallen into a depression and alcohol abuse after losing his bid for the state’s highest post,” in the words of the Associated Press.

The 2019 Florida gubernatorial nominee said he had too much too drink and never used crystal meth.

For members of the news media, reporting the story became a question of how many salacious details to report.

“Local 10,” WPLG–TV in Miami, bannered on its home page Saturday, “Man found with Gillum at South Beach hotel room identifies as ‘pornstar performer’” (since updated) and reported, “In a Rent Men profile, Dyson advertised his services as a gay male escort,” referring to Tyson Dyson, a registered nurse. “On social media, he shared public videos and photos showing he is proud of his chiseled body.” Other websites additionally showed photos of Dyson.

Many mainstream outlets, however, omitted the information about the escort, including the AP, the New York Times and the Tallahassee Democrat, which circulated its account to other Florida papers.

“Our first day story did not mention Travis Dyson’s apparent employment history — nor did the first day stories from other media,” Rick Hirsch, managing editor of the Miami Herald, told Journal-isms by email on Monday.

“Our folo, published yesterday, did: ‘Travis Dyson, who was taken to a Miami Beach hospital Friday morning in stable condition, later told the Miami New Times that Gillum mentioned nothing of a wedding. Dyson, who went by the alias Brodie Scott on a website for male escorts, declined to comment Sunday but wrote in a text message that he’s hiring an attorney.

“Here is the link.”

The Tampa Bay Times was more discreet. “According to public records, Dyson is a registered nurse who lives in Brickell. His Instagram account features selfies in scrubs and a medical coat. The page also features numerous photos of Dyson shirtless and rippled, on the beach, on boats or at night spots with friends, including his fiance,” it reported on Friday, updated Saturday.

The Associated Press, New York Times and Tallahassee Democrat did not respond to requests for comment.

How much detail is too much?

Some may agree with Barbara DeVane, an activist and lobbyist for the Florida National Organization for Women, who told TaMaryn Waters of the Tallahassee Democrat, “There is such a thing as privacy with people, for people to have a private life,” she said. “He wasn’t putting anyone’s life in harm’s way. He was in a private hotel room.”

Executive Director Adam Pawlus of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, now branding itself NLGJA: The Association of LGBTQ Journalists, messaged Journal-isms with this guideline: “Describing the background of the others in the room may be appropriate, given the context of the situation. Reporters should avoid sensationalizing and continue to confirm information before publishing.” 

36% of Blacks Tune in to Fox News

“A new survey conducted Feb. 18 to March 2, 2020, as part of Pew Research Center’s Election News Pathways project finds that there are some notable differences between white and black Democrats in both news consumption habits and assessments of recent political events and figures in the news, according to the survey of 10,300 U.S. adults who are members of the Center’s American Trends Panel,” Mark Jurkowitz and Amy Mitchell reported on March 11.

“Black Democrats and black independents who lean Democratic are considerably less likely than their white counterparts to operate in a ‘media bubble,’ consuming political news only from outlets that have left-leaning audiences, according [to] a November 2019 Pew Research Center survey. According to a new Center analysis, 12% do, compared with 23% of white Democrats.

“In choosing media sources, black Democrats are more likely to get political and election news from Fox News (36%) than are white Democrats (17%). They also are more likely to look to CBS News and NBC News as sources. On the other hand, many more white than black Democrats get political news from The New York Times, The Washington Post and NPR. For example, 43% of white Democrats get news from NPR, compared with 10% of black Democrats. There are also some similarities in the media diets of these two groups: For example, large portions of both black and white Democrats turn to CNN for political news (56% of black Democrats and 52% of white Democrats).

“There is also substantial variation by race when it comes to how closely Democrats are following 2020 election news about the candidates. About half of black Democrats say they are following it very or fairly closely; that number jumps to about two-thirds of white Democrats. . . .”

Lovell Beaulieu, Loyal New Orleanian, Dies at 65

Lovell S. Beaulieu (pictured), a New Orleanian who held editorial writing and management jobs at newspapers from Montana to Maine, died Saturday at the Ferncrest Living Center in New Orleans, a niece, Brittany R. Major, told Journal-isms. He was 65, had long been ill and died of complications of diabetes, she said.

Dean Baquet, executive editor at the New York Times and a fellow New Orleanian, messaged Journal-isms on Thursday. “He was a truly committed journalist,” he said of Beaulieu. “He did the work. He knew New Orleans politics. He cared about the city and was deeply connected to it. He was a good guy.”

Beaulieu started his newspaper career as a reporter at the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, and later worked as a bureau chief for the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. as a senior editorial writer at the Des Moines Register and in management positions at the Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, La., and the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, where he captured a top award for editorial writing in the state.

After Hattiesburg, Beaulieu spent brief stints as editor of two weekly newspapers, in Montana and then in Maine, before returning to the South as news editor and editorial writer for the Daily Star in Hammond, La., where he helped lead that publication to the top newspaper honor in the annual Louisiana Press Association and Louisiana-Mississippi Associated Press Media Editors contests.

Beaulieu ended his career in journalism with the Waterbury Record, Stowe Reporter and the News & Citizen publications in central Vermont.

His spirit was never far from his beloved St. Augustine High School, however — he was a 1972 graduate and later returned to teach there — and he had told Journal-isms he planned to write a book about the school.

Others who graduated from St. Aug’s include Baquet; Will Sutton, now a columnist at NOLA.com; Dwight Ott, retired from the Philadelphia Inquirer, longtime ESPN anchor Stan Verrett and the late Warren Brown of the Washington Post.

Beaulieu worked with Sutton at the Gary edition of the Post-Tribune in Northwest Indiana. Sutton became editor of the edition, and Beaulieu told Journal-isms that he “got his editorial writing break” from Sutton there and “worked alongside Baquet on a major project on the 20th anniversary of the Civil Rights Movement while both [of us] were at the Times-Picayune.”

After Beaulieu became editor in predominantly black Gary in 2004, Kimberly Steele, a white female staffer, sued the parent company, saying she didn’t get the job because she was white. In 2008, a federal court jury found that she failed to prove her allegation.  

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the St. Augustine High School Lovell S. Beaulieu Scholarship Fund, 2600 A.P. Tureaud Ave., New Orleans, LA 70119 (504) 944-2424. www.staugnola.org

Frank Bond, ‘Storyteller’ at Newseum, Dies at 68

“Frank Bond Jr. (pictured), a former WBAL-TV reporter who later was a producer at The Newseum in Washington, D.C., died Friday at his Mount Washington home,” Jacques Kelly reported Tuesday for the Baltimore Sun. “He was 68.

“His daughter, Lauren Garrett-Bond, said no cause of death had been established.

“Mr. Bond joined WBAL-TV and worked there from 1977 to 1986. He was initially a photographer and became a reporter.

“After leaving WBAL-TV, he took a job with Gannett News in Washington, D.C.

“While with Gannett, he traveled to the Pan-Am Games, the Olympics, and disasters where he prided himself on sharing the news of the day with the world,” his daughter said.

“Mr. Bond went on to join Channel 9 News (WUSA), also in Washington.”

In 1999, Bond moved to production and on-air talent for the Freedom Forum. He worked for the First Amendment Center and the Newseum, the news museum in the nation’s capital that recently sold its building.

” I research, write and produce documentaries and multi-media exhibits,” Bond wrote in his LinkedIn profile. “I help create new interactive exhibits. I moderate panel discussions, I host interview programs before live audiences. I do voiceover narration for other producers’ work.”

There, he displayed “the warmth, the curiosity, the intellect” she will remember,  Patty Rhule, vice president, content innovation at the Freedom Forum, told Journal-isms. “You couldn’t walk anywhere in the Newseum without hearing Frank’s voice. . . . He brought such enthusiasm to his storytelling.” Bond created exhibits on the civil rights era, the Berlin Wall and the First Amendment, among others, she said.

Bond’s daughter told the Sun, “His greatest joy at his Newseum post was working with the youth program that was held there. He loved inspiring young student journalists to make their mark.”

Food Critic John Tanasychuk Dies at 61

“His boss described him as ‘sooo Canadian — polite, warm and a gentleman,’ and James Beard Award winning-chef Michelle Bernstein called him ‘humble, sweet and unassuming,’ ” Michael Mayo wrote Thursday for the South Florida SunSentinel. “For more than a decade, John Tanasychuk (pictured) roamed South Florida’s dining scene, delivering honest assessments of eateries high-end and hardscrabble for South Florida Sun Sentinel readers.

“He once awarded a top four-star rating to a hot dog stand (Hot Dog Heaven in Fort Lauderdale) and carved up a pricey Italian steakhouse in Hollywood that served a rotten steak. ‘Stinky feet. Blue cheese. Just take this off our table. Please!’ he wrote.

“Tanasychuk died Tuesday in Miami after a lengthy battle with lung cancer. He was 61.

Ellen Creager reported in the Detroit Free Press, “Born Benjamin John Tanasychuk on Feb. 5, 1959, in Chatham, Ontario, he grew up around food. His father was Ukrainian and his mother was a member of the Caldwell First Nation Anishinaabe group in Ontario. . . .

“He graduated from the University of Windsor and joined the staff of the Windsor Star. He went to the Free Press in 1988, where he was food writer and assistant features editor. In 1999 he joined the Sun-Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale as feature writer, later becoming restaurant critic. He took a buyout in 2015. Four years ago, he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer, but he kept going. . . .”

Short Takes

The building that houses the Daytona (Fla.) Times and WPUL-AM 1590 / FM 100.7 radio station is believed to have been set on fire deliberately. (Credit: Daytona Beach Fire Department)
​

  • Howard University’s WHUT-TV, the only black-owned public media station in the United States, has an opening for general manager, with Jefferi K. Lee (pictured) out after eight years in the job, effective Feb. 5. “Since Mr. Lee’s departure in February, the current leadership oversight of Howard University’s TV and Radio media portfolio continues under the University’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Relations, Debbi Jarvis, in place since October 2018. WHUR-Radio General Manager and HU alumnus Sean Plater also has stepped in to provide operational management and his many years of broadcast expertise to WHUT-TV,” Alonda Thomas, Howard’s director of public relations, told Journal-isms. Lee, a former vice president of BET, said by telephone, “I don’t have a specific landing place in mind” but is open to public or commercial television.
  • “A group of colleagues of the late George E. Curry (pictured) is planning a tribute to him. We would appreciate your support — including financially — of a gathering dedicated to him during the July 8-12 joint convention of the National Association of Black Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists,” reads a GoFundMe notice posted Monday. “George supported both groups, and was NABJ’s 2003 Journalist of the Year. . . .”
  • “On International Women’s Day, March 8, thousands of women, including journalists, took to the streets in the main cities of Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile,” Paola Nalvarte reported March 11 for the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas. “In Mexico, in a massive unprecedented protest according to the press in that country, female journalists from various media, and many who are part of the collective Periodistas Unidas Mexicanas (PUM), joined the March 8 march to protest against ‘the macho media,’ because of the work and sexual harassment they face in their jobs, according to the Mexican magazine Proceso. . . .”
  • “To mark this year’s World Day Against Cyber-Censorship, celebrated on 12 March, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is unveiling its list of press freedom’s 20 worst digital predators in 2020 – companies and government agencies that use digital technology to spy on and harass journalists and thereby jeopardize our ability to get news and information,” RSF announced. “This list is not exhaustive but, in 2020, these 20 Digital Predators of Press Freedom represent a clear danger for freedom of opinion and expression. . . .”
  • “The internationally condemned rite of female genital mutilation (FGM) is practiced in at least 92 countries, according to a new study released Tuesday by three advocacy groups, Masood Farivar reported for the Voice of America. “Despite a decline in its prevalence in recent decades, there are still millions of girls around the world subjected to the painful and highly dangerous practice. . . .”
  • “Diana Zurco (pictured} did not attend her high school graduation because she refused to receive a diploma with her birth name. At 17 and considered a boy by school officials, she grew her hair long and adopted the name Diana after the alien character on the show ‘V’ about an extraterrestrial invasion,” Debora Rey reported Tuesday for the Associated Press. “Now 40, she recalled her youthful rebellion while sitting in a comfortable chair in the studio of Argentina’s public television station ahead of her debut as the country’s first transgender newscaster, a milestone for an excluded community that is often the target of violence and has a life expectancy roughly half that of the rest of the population. . . .”

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